First asleep meant first awake.  Nari checked Jay Park’s fridge and then made breakfast for him and Simon D.  It wasn’t as spectacular as she wanted it, but her options of ingredients were limited.  Coffee brewing was the most important, for her and them.  

“Good morning,” Jay said in English.

She answered back in Korean, which made them both smile.  “Sit and I’ll serve breakfast.”

“Simon D still asleep?”

“You know it,” Nair nodded.  “So what’s on your schedule today?”

“I’ve got a few concerts coming up,” Jay replied.

“With Loco and Ugly Duck?”

“Yeah…. Mmm, this is great, thanks.”

“Save enough for me?” Simon asked, walking in and kissing Nari on the cheek.

“Of course we did,” Nari replied and handed him a mug of steaming coffee.

During breakfast she got a call and excused herself to answer it.  When she returned, her smile was no longer present, prompting them to ask what was wrong. 

“Was that call about your dad?” Simon asked gently.

She nodded. “The lawyer told me they… he… accepted doing a video conference from BC, Canada. 

Jay asked, “How is it that your dad just happens to also be in your home province?”

“Hey that’s true… it is weird that he’d be in BC.  Anyway, I guess I’ll have to figure out what to ask him, to see if he’s legit,” Nari said thoughtfully.

“We can do the video conference here or at AOMG, choice is yours.”

Nari put her hand on Jay’s arm, “thanks AOMG is fine.”

Simon finished chewing and suggested, “maybe your mom’s journal will have something in it that only your real dad would know.”

“That’s a great idea… I guess I’ll have some heavy reading to do.  But I have nothing scheduled today, so lots of time to read.”

Nari left with them, getting dropped off at her studio first. She went upstairs to her loft and made tea. Then getting out her mom’s journal, Nari began to read.  What she discovered was that first her mother had left her words of wisdom to guide her in life.  Then she spoke of her early life and then the joy of having a daughter.   While reading, her phone went off with two texts; one from Simon D and the other from Jay Park.  It made Nari smile, they were checking up on her.  

To both she sent the same text.  ’I’m okay, don’t worry about me, focus on being productive CEOs.’  It wasn’t complete truth, because the tears fell freely down both cheeks.  

After sunset the journal was done and Nari had the answers she needed. It was early enough in the evening  that a call to the lawyer and to schedule the video conference could be completed.  However the time and date, was set for when neither CEO, nor most of the AOMG crew would be around.  It was something she had to do on her own, otherwise for the rest of her life she’d be a victim. Cutting a piece of her hair off, Nari put it in a baggie and then left it by the studio keys.

Her cell rang and she picked it up.  “Hello… are you checking up on me again Simon?”

“I guess I’m busted,” he chuckled.  “But I also called to let you know that from sun up to late at night, I’m going to be working tomorrow.”

“It’s okay, being busy means that you’re helping with the prosperity of AOMG.”

“I love you Nari and I’ll make it up to you the day after.”

“Simon, there’s nothing to make up.  I’m happy that my man is making money and serving his company and fans.  I love you even more, because you can make people so happy. And I know you’ll text me when you get a few minutes of free time.”

“I do this ….” he began to say, as it was their usual joke.

She finished for him, “… because you love it.  Good night and I’ll see you in a day or two.”

That night was not productive sleeping, more like an exercise in how to fight your blankets.  Yet by the time she had to get up and get ready for the conference, Nari was wide awake. Eager to get it over with, was an understatement.  Arriving at AOMG she went to the studio and waited for the lawyer to come.  One of the office girls helped her set up the laptop for the conference.  The lawyer called via cell phone, back to Canada to confirm everything was ready to go on that end.  Mr. Im was the one who initiated the video conference.  They greeted each other in English.  Nari noticed he didn’t apologize for abandoning them and only had regrets towards her mother’s death.  She let him say his bit first and then began the questioning.  Remaining calm throughout the video conference was easy, thanks to the revelations in her mom’s journal. Had it not been for that, this meeting would have hurt her deeply. Finally she had had enough.

“It’s funny that you claim to be my father, because my mother left me a copy of his death certificate, in case I ever wanted to find him.  He died when I was sixteen, in a gambling related incident in Vegas.  My lawyer will be contacting the proper authorities to charge you with identity theft.  Should you continue to insist you are my father, then I’m sure you will participate in a DNA test. Until proven otherwise, you are not my father. And tell my ex that if he tries to pull something like this again, I will take him to court for everything he has. Have a nice day.”  Nari ended things with a super nice voice, even though she wanted to scream at them.

Closing the lap top she handed the baggie of her hair to the lawyer.  After thanking him for his assistance, she left the room and bumped into Hep.

“Hi! I didn’t know you were here, no one mentioned it.”

“Hi Hep. No one knew, except the office girls and I asked them to keep it quiet. Actually I bribed them with baked treats.”

“What’s up?  Why’s your lawyer here?”  Hep asked, seeing the man let himself out.

“Have you heard that my father suddenly appeared?”  She waited to see his nod in confirmation.  “Well we had a video conference just now. He wasn’t legit.  My mom’s journal had a death certificate for him.  He died when I was sixteen.  Today was totally bogus.”

Hep was shocked she was so calm.  “Wow… are you okay?” 

“Surprisingly yes.  Annoyed that my ex tried to pull a scam on me like this, but when my dad left us, to me he was dead.  I had no desire to find him or meet him at all.”

“Good for you.  Moving forward with your life…. But why do it without letting Simon D or Jay know?”

She shrugged, “I guess cause I depend on them and you guys so much.  I’m not a victim anymore and I wanted to see if I could be strong on my own… does that make sense?”

He nodded and then gave her a quick hug.  “We like it when you let us help.  You think you depend on us a lot, but really that’s far from the truth.  Not even letting us help you promote #9 Cloud.”

“Are you going to rat me out to your bosses?” Nari asked.

“No, as long as you bring me some of your fresh made kimchi, the next time you make it.”

“Deal… And thanks Hep.  I’ll see you later.”

He watched her get on the motorcycle and ride off.  Then to one of the girls at the front desk, “I said I wouldn’t rat her out, but even if you don’t tell Simon D, maybe a text to Jay wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Already beat you to it Hep.  She was way too controlled, it’s got us worried.  Once it was over, I texted Jay.  He said he’d handle it and that’s good enough for us.”

Hep nodded, “you’re good…. Any of the baked stuff she brought, left?” He asked hopefully.

The girls laughed and shook their heads negatively. He sighed and returned to what he’d been working on.  Meanwhile Nari rode to her mother’s grave.  She just sat down by the stone and thanked her mom for the journal.

“Finally I know the truth, thanks mom.”

Nari squealed in shock, when a hand landed on her shoulder from behind. 

“Relax it’s just me.”

She looked up.  “Jay! What are you doing here? I thought you had an interview right now?”

“So that’s how you did it, sneaky of you to check our schedules. It ended early.  A birdie gave me the heads up.”

“Someone tweeted you?  I’m going to kill Hep.”

“It wasn’t a tweet and it wasn’t Hep.  Were you going to tell Simon and I about today?”  Jay asked, helping her stand up.

“Yeah I guess.  I just had to do it by myself, ya know?”

Jay nodded, “So what truths did you find out?”

“Do you have time for a drink at Dudart?” She asked back.

He looked at his watch and then his cell calendar.  “Race you there.”

She laughed, but gave him a head start.  Still he had no chance driving a car, against her riding the motorcycle.  By the time he arrived, Nari was waiting at a table drinking a coffee.  “I ordered your usual.”

“So was the man your dad?”

“No, but I knew that going in.”  She explained about her mom’s journal.  “He also left us when I was ten, because he really didn’t want kids, but tried to stay and do the right thing. Mom’s journal said he’d stayed in touch with her randomly over the years.  She was still his emergency contact and they never officially divorced.  He had a bad gambling addiction and ended up dead because of it. The journal had his death certificate. But those can be forged, so I still went along with the whole meeting today. But he knew nothing specific and that in itself told me he wasn’t legit. In case the fake dad continues to pursue his claims, I left a chunk of my hair for DNA testing.”

“Honestly I expected to find you at your mom’s grave crying.  You’ve handled things well, considering….” Jay complimented.

“Thanks.  My days of crying are done…. I know it’s weird to ask, but can you tell Simon later? I don’t want him to get mad about my ex.  And you can report back telling him I’m okay too.”

“Sure I can.  Tablo’s show tonight; we’re both doing it together, with Gray and Loco.”

“Me I’m going to bed early… I didn’t sleep well last night…. How did you know I’d be at the cemetery though?”

“I called my mom for advice.” Jay smiled.